The present invention relates to a refrigeration system such as might be used to cool air or water for refrigeration or for air conditioning purposes.
As is well known, refrigeration systems generally comprise either (a) a vapor compressor that compresses a gaseous refrigerant such as a fluorinated hydrocarbon, a condenser to condense the vapor to liquid form, an expansion valve to reduce the pressure of the liquid, and an evaporator to cool the air or water by evaporation of the refrigerant; or (b) an absorber containing an absorbent such as a solution of lithium bromide and water that absorbs the gaseous refrigerant such as water vapor, a pump that raises the pressure of the solution after absorption of the vapor, a generator in which the solution is heated to drive the refrigerant vapor off at high pressure, a condenser in which the high-pressure vapor is cooled until it condenses into liquid form, and expansion valve by which the liquid is brought to a lower pressure, and an evaporator to cool the air or water by evaporation of the refrigerant.
The disadvantage of the vapor compression system described under (a) above is that large amounts of electric power are required to compress the vapor, so operating expenses are high and a valuable energy resource is consumed. The disadvantage of the absorption system described in (b) above is that high temperatures are required to drive the refrigerant out of the solution in the generator. In addition, a highly efficient coolant such as cold water is required in the condenser and the absorber. The high temperatures of the generator are attained usually by combustion of fossil fuels, so operating expenses are high and a valuable energy resource is consumed. Only with large, costly, inefficient collector systems can these high temperatures be attained with a plentiful resource such as solar energy. The need for an efficient coolant for the absorption system is a serious disadvantage because water is also a valuable resource that is thereby at least in part consumed via thermal pollution and via chemical pollution due to the use of corrosion inhibitors.